A Calgary woman and her adult son are recovering from their injuries after disrupting a bear believed feasting on an animal carcass in Kananaskis Country on Saturday.
The face-to-face encounter with the bruin occurred in the French Creek area of Spray Valley in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. The man suffered wounds to his head and arms and his mother was bit on the hand. When the bear bit down on the woman’s hand, it deployed the bear spray canister she was holding and the animal retreated.
The injuries to the mother and son are not life threatening and they were able to hike from the scene and drive themselves to the Canmore Hospital.
Officials suspect the animal was a grizzly bear but they are awaiting the results of a test of DNA from a hair sample collected from the scene of the encounter. A search of the area resulted in the discovery of a moose carcass and it’s believed the bear launched a defensive attack on the hikers in an attempt to guard its meal.
“I believe this is a one-off incident with this bear due to the circumstances,” explained conservation officer Nick Dykshoorn. “It wants the threat, which it sees as the people, gone. It’s not intending to kill anyone. It just wants that threat gone.”
Dykshoorn credits the restraint of the bear and the bear spray for the relatively positive outcome of the encounter. “They’re pretty lucky.”
The southern part of the Spray Valley remains closed to the public to allow the bear an opportunity to recover. Conservation officers did not disturb the moose carcass.
Alberta Parks encourages visitors to the backcountry to carry bear spray, to travel in tight groups and to keep pets on leash to minimize the likelihood of a bear encounter.
With files from CTV’s Alesia Fieldberg
